Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on Friday that social media access will be banned for children under the age of 16 in the state. The announcement was made while presenting the ₹4.48 lakh crore budget for the financial year 2026–27.
The move is aimed at addressing the growing concerns over the harmful effects of excessive mobile phone use among children. The government said the decision is intended to protect young users from the negative impact of social media on mental health, sleep patterns and online safety.
“To prevent adverse effects of increasing mobile usage on children, usage of social media will be banned for children under the age of 16,” Siddaramaiah said.
Move aims to protect children from harmful effects of social media
If implemented, Karnataka will become the first state in India to introduce such a restriction. Similar steps have already been taken or are being considered in several countries around the world. In December, Australia banned social media access for children under 16. Some European countries are also examining similar measures, while Britain recently sought opinions from parents and children on restricting social media use for minors.
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Along with the restriction, the Karnataka government also announced new initiatives in the education sector.
Siddaramaiah said an Artificial Intelligence-based learning system will be introduced for students in Classes 8 to 12. The personalised digital tutoring platform will be developed in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Dharwad and is expected to benefit about 1.22 million students. The project will be implemented at an estimated cost of ₹5 crore.
The state government also plans to strengthen higher education institutions. The University of Visvesvaraya College of Engineering in Bengaluru will receive ₹500 crore for development on the lines of the IITs, with ₹100 crore allocated in the current year.
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To address staffing shortages, the government has authorised the recruitment of 2,000 teaching staff for degree colleges, polytechnics and engineering colleges.
The Chief Minister also announced the introduction of the Rohith Vemula Bill to tackle caste-based discrimination in higher education institutions.
In addition, the government will invest ₹3,900 crore over the next three years to expand the Karnataka Public Schools system from lower kindergarten to Class 12, increasing the number of such schools to 800. Around 15,000 teachers will also be recruited for primary and high schools.
